A True Display of Skill
by PikaPown
Summary: Caitlyn and Ezreal have been friends since childhood. But when a falling out of sorts puts their friendship down the drain for a while, can Ezreal find a way to make it up to the Sheriff? A startling discovery on his part may just do the trick. Takes place before Ezreal joins the League and during it as well.
1. Chapter 1

Shurima - 5,000 Years Ago

Three lone pyramids stand amidst the timeless, ever shifting sands known as the Shuriman Desert. Among these pyramids, are various scaffoldings and crane-like machines. Workmen in the literal thousands tirelessly labor over the magnificent structures, cutting limestone bricks with astounding precision and skill. Among them, stands an imposing figure. No one questions his authority, and he commands absolute power. He is Azir, Emperor of The Sands. Beside him, stand three other figures, each a distinguished member of the Emperor's Royal Court. They are Xerath, Nasus and Renekton. Together these four watch over not only the progression of civilization, but also the entrance to a realm darker and more menacing than the starless night sky.

_The Void_.

Piltover, The City of Progress - Present Day

Within the midsts of the widespread city known as Piltover, stands a small and humble library, known as the Library of Progress. Here, scholars from all over Runeterra may read the finest of literature, from any category. Be it history, Fiction, Non-fiction, and so forth. Sitting at an old table within the library is a boy no older than nineteen years of age, with golden locks of hair as bright as the setting sun's rays, and light cerulean eyes that glittered like sparkling sapphires. Two red tattoos lay on his cheeks, and a pair of goggles atop his head. His eyes are focused squarely on the numerous books laying about him, searching for useful information concerning the whereabouts of the lost floating pyramids of Shurima. The Academy of Techmaturigcal Sciences was to send him on an expedition soon, a requirement being an understanding of the area, and any clues concerning the pyramids' location. The boy, at the near end of his patience, and quite honestly, his insanity, stomped over to the aisle dubbed 'Ancient Shurima' and shoved the less useful tomes back in their places, not taking notice of a book sliding out of place from the other side.

A soft voice called out from the other side of the shelf.

"Psst. Ezreal."

The boy looked up from the book he was reading to investigate the noise. He noticed a girl's face on the other side of the books. He knew that face well. She was Caitlyn, Piltover's very own Sheriff, despite the fact that she was barely two months younger than Ezreal. She had bright blue eyes that he always seemed to be getting lost in, and long dark blue hair that spilled down her back. She, of course, had her trademark hextech hat on, with its various gadgets and among other things. She was very pretty, for someone who was always so serious. However, any unfortunate man that dared approach her in a manner she did not like would find themselves getting chased by a very angry, eighteen-year old, gun wielding maniac that was obsessed with zero percent crime rates and could shoot a person from about fifty miles away, with a huge rifle. At least that was what Ezreal thought. Despite being childhood friends, he was still very cautious around her, making sure not to accidentally commit crimes while she was around. He seemed to have a bad habit of doing so, but his good friends Heimerdinger and Jayce shrugged off the boy's unfortunate luck and kept quiet around Caitlyn.

_Most_ of the time, that is. When they didn't feel like messing with him.

Looking back down at his book, clearly not interested in the girl at the moment, Ezreal replied with a dash of exasperation and a lot of frustration in his tone, mainly due to not finding any useful leads for the expedition.

" What do you want, Caitlyn? "

She frowned. " It's time for us to go back to the Institute. I thought I would come and see how things were going." Caitlyn had been inducted into the League of Legends just a little over a year ago. She was recognized for her uncanny ability with the rifle, and is one of the most summoned AD carries as of yet. Ezreal, however, was not a Champion, although the Institute of War had taken quite an interest in him, for he had the ability to wield powerful magic, given the incentive and proper channeling item, that is. Ezreal did not really want to be apart of the League, but a full-time cartographer and explorer. He had already drawn up maps of various locations around Runterra, places he had explored, not to mention with amazing in-depth detail.

" Everything's great."

"It would be wise if you took a break, love. Tiring yourself over ancient relics of the past is not smart. Especially for days on end, like you have been."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Her brows were furrowed slightly, worry written all over her face. He _did_ look a little exhausted. Scratch that, even more so. Like, spent.

"_Yes_, Caitlyn, I'm sure." There were very few things Ezreal didn't like about Caitlyn. For one, the strict, businesslike manner in which she spoke struck him as odd for someone who was still in their teens, and two, was the fact that she was constantly worrying about him. Ever since their childhood it was always, "Ezreal, you can't do this, you can't do that, blah blah blah…." _despite _the fact that he was the older of the two. A fine example of this happened some time ago. When Ezreal was no older that nine or ten, He had made an effort to secretly explore the layout of the city slums, _before_ Caitlyn became handy at catching criminals. Piltover then was a very different place, and thanks to the Sheriff the crime rate was extremely low now. He had told his friend of the adventure he took, when she chided him right on the spot, saying he could get hurt, kidnapped, etc. He supposed she had a right to worry, seeing as how he was a child and had no way to protect himself. But he just thought that, well, she worried _too_ much. To the point where it kinda creeped him out. His parents would always joke around, telling him that the girl probably had a crush on him, and they still do to this day. Which, in his opinion, didn't seem so bad. After all, she was really pretty, and cared a lot about him…

Giving his head a shake, he shoved all thoughts and feelings he had about the matter into the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind and prayed to the gods that she didn't take note of the red flush on his cheeks. Wether she did or not, Caitlyn did not mention it, but instead made her way around the shelf to meet him. Crossing her arms, she looked him up and down sternly before taking Ezreal by the arm and dragging him out of the library.

"H-Hey, what are you doing?!" The explorer had exclaimed.

"You don't need to melt your brain over this expedition, love. You need rest."

"Who said you had the right to tell me what to do?! I'm the older one of us!" He had said while flailing his arms in the air.

"By two months. Your point?"

"My point is I'm not kid anymore and I can handle myself, thank you very much." With that, he looked her straight in the eye. Ezreal was not excessivley tall, but by a fair amount, to the point of having to look down to meet her icy blue orbs. The Sheriff let out a soft sigh.

"Yes, but _someone _has to worry about you, when you disappear for weeks on end, exploring. _Constantly_ exploring, I might add. You only spend as much time in Piltover as you are required to. You never visit anymore." Caitlyn had a forlorn look on her face, something that Ezreal thought did not belong there.

"I'm sorry Caitlyn…but this expedition means a lot to me. I can finally get some recognition for what I do when I find the floating pyramids. My place in the world is exploring, not living in Piltover for the rest of my life, doing nothing." Ezreal's manner had mellowed out, different from the annoyed tones he had spoke in earlier.

"I hope you'll understand."

"Then I guess this is goodbye, Ezreal." The Sheriff broke eye contact with him, and turned to walk away. She stopped, as if to look back, but only sighed, for one last time.

"Goodbye…old friend." And with that, he turned to walk out of the library, back to his house in the nicer neighborhoods of Piltover.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: So, I kinda forgot to add an AN in the last chapter, but meh, I made up for it didn't I? Anyways, this is my first fan fiction ever, so, no flame please. .

I also apologize if Ezreal seems out of character. I was just writing and wanted something interesting to put in the story, sooo yeah. i also apologize for the short chapter and any weird grammatical errors if I made any. Well, without further ado, I give you Chapter 2! Hey, that rhymed…

The Shuriman Desert - Three Weeks Later

Ezreal let out a low sigh. He was having no luck in finding the pyramids. All hints he found suggested the ruins to be somewhere in the middle of the desert, but with no real landmarks to go off of, it was hard to get his bearings straight. Ezreal opted to go solo on the expedition, despite the Academy's pleas and suggestions for him to take a team. He had packed enough supplies to last at least two weeks, before he would have to go back to the trading post near the starting point of the expedition. On this particular day, the wind was blowing hard, kicking up sand and further hampering his sense of direction. He told himself as long as he went straight, the pyramids would pop up eventually.

Ezreal turned his mind to something that had been bothering him since his friendship with Caitlyn strained, and by no small amount. He had practically outright _rejected_ Caitlyn's request to visit more often, and told her that he would rather spend time exploring then visiting. He hadn't known what came over him at the time, but now it was all clear. Caitlyn was probably _the_ most popular champion in the League right now, and Sheriff of Piltover. She had all the recognition and respect of hero, a rockstar. She didn't have to try hard to get the spotlight. Ezreal hadn't been so lucky. While the Piltoveran government had purchased the maps he had drawn up of various places around Runeterra, he hadn't ever gotten any real appreciation from the public. He shook his head, not proud of himself for thinking such thoughts. As long as _someone_ needed him, or his maps, that was enough.

A few hours had passed, and with it, the sun rose to the peak of the sky, its rays deadly to those not accustomed to the heat. While Ezreal had spent a fair amount of time in Shurima, he did not grow even the slightest bit immune to its effect, and decided it was high time to set up camp. He had come up with a solid plan. Each day, he would wake up as early as possible, and travel until about midday. The heat that radiated off of the sun was deadliest at that time, and he didn't want to risk overheating. So, he would set up camp, rest if he needed to, and confide in his maps, making sure he was going in the right direction. However, by taking on the task of finding such magnificent pyramids, he ran the risk of never making it back to civilization alive. Legends and accounts made by real people told of great explorers that set out to find the floating pyramids of Shurima. Most ended in the particular explorer either been found dead, driven insane from thirst, or just, never heard from again. Fortunately, Ezreal was smart, and if he ran the risk of running out of supplies or his sanity, he would turn back immediately and conduct another expedition in the near future. But something told him otherwise. That he was going to find the ruins. In fact, that something, whatever it was, practically guaranteed it.

This feeling…was definitely unsettling. He would make sure to keep an eye on his sanity and or thoughts for the time being.

Another few days of wandering followed, and he was starting to lose hope. Nothing out of the ordinary had popped up, and he was also getting frustrated. However, on this particular day, he found something interesting.

Walking along the smooth and shifting sands, Ezreal kept his eyes peeled for anything, any sign he was nearing the fruits of his labor. Not watching where he was going, the boy tripped over something hard, and face planted right into the sand. Cursing whoever it was that decided to put a huge stone in the ground, he got up and dusted himself off, and spat the sand out of his mouth. Having nothing better to do, he walked over to look at whatever the thing was. It appeared to be some sort of obelisk, long forgotten and buried deep in the sand. Ezreal was adept at reading ancient Shuriman, and was surprised to see the words 'pyramids' and 'westward' pop up. It certainly was an encouraging find. Just as he was about to get up and head westward to where the pyramids were, according to the obelisk, his hand brushed over some runes he hadn't seen before. It was a name, belonging to the Emperor at the time. After a few moments of translating, he had come up with…Azir!

Azir, the Emperor of the Shifting Sands! Ezreal practically jumped with excitement. The man, or rather, _beast,_ in question had just recently been revived, and was all the rage in the archeological world. The Emperor was then inducted into the League of Legends almost immediately. Before his return, many had speculated his existence, and the untold riches that lie within the pyramids he built. However, when asked about their whereabouts, he would not give, simply replying that they were a relic of the past, and soon a new civilization would rise, uniting the peoples of Shurima into one kingdom again. Ezreal had never expected to find anything mentioning his name out in the middle of the desert, where runes of any kind were expected to deteriorate, especially after existing for so long. A find like this, mentioning one of the most interesting and recognizable people in ancient history, along with the greatest structure ever built, was an amazing find. He took a quick picture of it with his hextech camera, and continued his journey to the west.

Two days of traveling followed after, and Ezreal knew for sure at this point the expedition was coming to a close, with him finding the pyramids. For awhile after finding the obelisk, he had begun to think about the strange feeling of…triumph? It was hard to explain, like some entity guaranteed his discovery of the buildings, and whatever lay inside. He decided to get some fresh air and get ready to pack up camp.

Going outside of his tent, he looked up briefly at the sun, and judging by its position, he'd say it was around six-thirty in the evening. Taking a small walk around the camp, he had noticed something unusual about the horizon. While the ground appeared to be relatively straight for the most part, it also seemed a little, indented. Like it was curving into the earth. Walking a little closer, he noticed the indent grew larger, and larger, until finally he came upon a massive ditch in the ground, about the size of ten to twenty football fields. That was when he looked down, and saw _it_.

Ezreal's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

" _No. Way_. "


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Yayyyy! Another chapter! It only took me forever to sit down and write. Haha! This one's kinda short, but I figured I had to get something out for you guys. I just wanted to give you some insight into how a day at the League would go for Caitlyn. Well, sometimes that is. Anyways, enjoy!

Shurima - Western Desert

What lie in the pit beneath Ezreal were probably the most beautiful structures he had seen as of late. Three, perfectly preserved pyramids hovered over the inky blackness of the abyss-like pit. The one in the middle was the biggest, the other, to its right, was the smallest, and the one on the left was second biggest of the three. He had looked around the curves of the pit, and noticed several smaller structures, which he assumed to be causeways and mortuary temples. Something like this suggested that everything was above ground once, but an unknown source caused it to cave in. Ezreal looked to the sky, noticing how low the sun was getting. He would only have a little time before he had to settle in. Legends and myths about the Shuriman Desert suggested of frightening and eerie creatures roaming the plain at night, eager to devour those lost in the dark. Most tales suggested the traveler stay as quiet as possible and rest in an area with a decent light source. Immediately, Ezreal's mind was going at a million miles a minute, thinking of ways to get inside the pyramids, and explore even more.. but first, he decided it would be wise to take a picture of the pyramids with his hextech camera, then sketch the basic design and mechanisms of the structures, for future reference and in case he could not enter at the moment. While sketching, he did not notice the ominous shadows moving strangely across the sunlit Shuriman Desert.

Institute of War - Champion Select

Caitlyn sat in her chair, waiting for the announcement of blue team's marksman. The said team had consisted of Darius, Fizz, Lee Sin, and Nami. Red team's composition was Riven, LeBlanc, Warwick, Miss Fortune, and Leona. The Sheriff was deep in thought when she heard her name called by the curt and commanding voice of High Chancellor Vessaria Kolminye. Being slightly jolted out of her musings, she stood and walked briskly to her position on the last available platform on blue side. She glanced over at Nami and gave her a slight nod, to which the Tidecaller responded with a wink. Caitlyn and Nami had gotten to know each other through League matches, and had undoubtedly befriended one another. Darius looked over the two girls, focusing his attention on The Exile, to whom he gave a frightening glare. The silver-haired woman countered with a unimpressed huff, and diverted her attention elsewhere. Everyone else waited for their summoners to teleport them to the Fields of Justice, where they would do battle to destroy the opposing team's nexus. The whole idea of the League of Legends would be utterly ridiculous to someone unaccustomed to it, but the purpose of the Institute of War was to keep city-states such as Demacia or Noxus from breaking out into huge conflicts. Therefore, the League of Legends stands as an arena of sorts where warriors, mages, assassins, and others alike could come and represent their city. This was to keep conflicts confined in one area, and to not disrupt the peoples of Valoran, or Runterra, for that matter.

Suddenly, Caitlyn was once again jolted from her thoughts by the familiar nausea that came from being abruptly teleported from one place to another. When her vision refocused and her eyes didn't have blind spots in them from the intense spectrum of light that came with teleportation, she looked around the familiar fountain, or spawn point, of the blue side on the Fields of Justice. Her fellow champions took no time in buying their starting items from Doran and then trotting to their respective lanes. Caitlyn walked over to the shopkeeper, bought a Doran's Blade, a health pot, and a warding trinket. She then jogged to bottom lane, where Nami and Lee Sin were waiting to leash the Monk's red buff.

-Later On-

It was thirty-eight minutes into the game, when Lee Sin signaled for assistance at Baron Nashor. Blue team had just won a major team fight against red side, leaving the latter scrambling to defend the middle lane inhibitor. They could not possibly leave base before losing the match to minions, therefore making it a perfect time to get Baron for the creep buff. Caitlyn had had a hard time against Miss Fortune and Leona early on in game, but after some well thought out ganks by Lee Sin, they were able to catch up in score. Now, the Sheriff was 13/5/8 with 267 CS, and had finished building Infinity Edge, Static Shiv, Bloodthirster, Berserker's, and with a Guardian Angel in the works. Everyone gathered at the Baron Pit, however, they did not take note of the enemy jungler approaching the battle between blue team and Nashor.

Lee Sin was just about to smite the creature when Warwick flashed over the wall, smiting Baron. Everyone was dead silent, eyes wide, when the wolf-hybrid began to laugh maniacally in his deep, husky voice.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the enemy team ambushed the dumbfounded blue team, first picking off Nami, who had ulted as soon as she saw LeBlanc and Miss Fortune. Next came Fizz, who ulted Miss Fortune before desperately trying to Playful Trickster out of the situation, only to be brought down by Riven's Runic Blade auto-attack combo. Darius full-on flung himself into red team, ulting Miss Fortune (Which killed her.), before moving on to Leblanc, only doing a third of her health. Leblanc dashed towards Caitlyn, but was narrowly kicked away by Lee Sin, who gave her a reassuring smile before disappearing into a onslaught of wind sword techniques from Riven and a blinding ray of light, originating from Leona. Caitlyn immediately 90 Caliber Netted away from Warwick, who would have her in a second with his ultimate if she faltered. LeBlanc dashed toward the Sheriff, a distance away still, before ulting and dashing again. Net was on cooldown, giving the girl no other choice but to flash over the ledge that led to the Gromp and blue buff.

In the end, red team almost scored an ace, but instead used Baron buff to push down the remaining inhibitors and turrets. Caitlyn's team lost, her final score being 18/7/10. She waited bitterly to be teleported back so she would not have to see the smug look on Miss Fortune's face. Caitlyn hated losing matches, and she hated being out done when it came to marksmanship. When she was finally teleported back to the summoning platforms, the Sheriff wasted no time in pushing past champions and summoners who had come to congratulate the winning team to get to her room. She had had enough of League matches for one day.

Once Caitlyn made it back to her room, she immediately collapsed on her bed. After a few moments, the Sheriff let out a long sigh, something she found herself doing more often since she and Ezreal stopped talking.

_Ezreal…_

"It's all his fault." She had told herself aloud.

While yes, it was Ezreal's fault that she was more stressed out than ever, she could not help but think about him. Wether she was on the Fields of Justice, or fighting crime in Piltover, she always had him somewhere on her mind. At this, a bright red flush found itself on her cheeks.

_Maybe I think about him _too _much…_


	4. Soooorrrrrryyyyy

K soooooooo...um. Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while. Mainly because I'm not really happy with it and I've been kinda lazy. BUT I will either redo this story or just come out with other League related stories because I feel like I owe you guys. Who knows. I might just continue this.

Please don't hate me. 


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